After a group of generals went down to prepare.
Jushou said with concern: "Sacking the city is really the last resort. Our army will suffer heavy casualties."
"So my lord came up with a way to attack their hearts, which is to return their family members and break their will to resist!" Guo Tu said with a smile.
"Well, Guo Tu, I'll leave this matter to you. You must spread the news widely so that the lower-level soldiers will know about it. There are still family members waiting for them in Xu County." Yuan Xi said.
He planned to use Zhuge Liang's move against Zhou Yu in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but he still needed some planning.
"General, what do you plan to do with Cao Cao's family? I heard that the female members of the Cao family are all in the general's camp." Cui Yan asked.
After a pause, he continued to persuade: "I heard..."
"Okay, okay, everyone, go down and deploy military affairs. I'm tired." Yuan Xi interrupted Cui Yan. He knew that Cui Yan was just talking about being a benevolent gentleman.
"General!" Cui Yan stood up anxiously.
"Okay, Mr. Cui, didn't you hear what the general said? Leave this matter to me. The general is tired after marching for a long time. You really shouldn't disturb him anymore!" Guo Tu said coldly.
Yuan Xi still wanted to say something when he saw Cui Yan, so he quickly entered the inner room. Cui Yan was endless in his remonstrances. Wang Gui was as stubborn as Emperor Taizong Li Shimin. Later, after the unification of Jin Dynasty, Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Xi was very depressed by Cui Yan.
Chen Liu went to the city.
At this time, many soldiers and generals of the Yanzhou Army looked at the surprising scene in front of them.
I saw Jizhou soldiers escorting more than 300 men, women, old and children to the city.
"Listen, this is your family in Xu County. The general is kind-hearted and has returned it to you generals!" shouted the soldiers with loud voices below.
"The general admires you. The battle between the two armies will not embarrass you!" More than a dozen soldiers shouted in unison.
Many soldiers saw this scene, including Cao Cao and others, and they hurried to the city wall.
Cao Cao's face was ashen. This move really took away the "qi" of the three armies and demoralized them before they fought.
"What a cruel move." Cheng Yu murmured.
"Lord, you must not pick them up!"
Li Tong, Yu Jin and others also wanted to say something, but they couldn't say anything. Because there are their parents, wives and children below.
Back then, Cao Cao moved all his family members to Xudu, but now it became a burden to the Ten Kingdoms. Zhu Wen also did the same, so as soon as Jin King Li Cunxu conquered Daliang, the Liang Kingdom surrendered.
History is always so strikingly similar.
"But Zhongde, your mother is also down there!" Cao Cao said tremblingly.
Cheng Yu gritted his teeth and said firmly: "We can't damage the morale of the army!"
"Your family is very safe, the general did not treat them badly." Jizhou Army continued to shout for a while.
Under the protection of soldiers, Guo Tu rode his horse to the bottom of the city and shouted loudly from a distance: "Cao Mengde, Xun Wenruo asked me to tell you that I'm sorry for not being able to save Xu County and your family. But he wants to do it for you." The Han Dynasty is loyal, so after your majesty’s persuasion, the general surrendered.”
As soon as these words came out, the whole city was in an uproar.
Seeing that the morale of the army was unstable, Cao Ren took his bow and raised his hand to shoot an arrow.
"Bang!" The arrow was nailed to the shield, making Guo Tu tremble in fright.
Wen Chou, who was holding a shield next to him, curled his lips and snorted coldly. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you!"
Guo Tu snorted coldly and said loudly: "Cao Mengde, don't worry, the two young masters have been sent to Yecheng for protection, and your daughter is in the general's tent, and the general will take care of it on his behalf, haha!"
"Haha!" Wen Chou shouted loudly with a group of Jizhou soldiers, making Cao Cao's face turn blue and white with anger.
"Retreat!" Wen Chou shouted, and all the Jizhou soldiers retreated, leaving only more than three hundred men, women, and children.
This time, Li Tong, Li Dian and Le Jin were embarrassed.
My own child is down there. It doesn't matter if I pick it up or not.
Cao Cao tried his best to control his anger and asked: "What are you waiting for? Why don't you open the city to pick up people!"
"Lord, you can't do it!" Cheng Yu advised.
Cao Cao waved his hands and said helplessly, "Our army's morale dropped for a while as soon as this move came out. If we don't pick them up, our soldiers will feel even more chilled."
Seeing everyone's hesitation, Cao Cao forced a smile and said: "Tian Dan can still restore the country with a single city of Jimo. Chenliu City is strong and well-supplied, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers working together. What do we have to fear? Open the door."
Cheng Yu had no choice but to ask Li Tong and others to open the city gate to pick up people.
Yuan's army marched into Yanzhou in early April, fighting for a month, and a stalemate at Guandu for nearly a month. By this time, it was already early June, the hottest time of the year.
The Jizhou army besieged the city tightly, and the Yanzhou army also defended the city tightly. Both sides learned from previous lessons and were very cautious about preparing for night attacks and sneak attacks. Therefore, except for some stone-throwing machines and crossbow attacks, there were basically few battles.
Yuan Xi brought Xu Chu and Guo Tu to the west of the city, where the soldiers of the Jizhou army and the civilian men sent from the surrounding areas were recruited.
Braving the scorching sun, they were building mounds of earth. Under the auspices of Ma Jun. The well railings and catapults were also assembled, and the Jizhou Army's crossbowmen began to shoot suppressive arrows at the top of the wall, while the catapults were responsible for cleaning the city towers and the defensive equipment behind the arrows.
"How long will it take to fill the city?" Yuan Xi asked Zhu Ling, who was responsible for filling the soil.
"As for the general, if the general is given another 20,000 men, he will probably still have more." Zhu Ling replied.
"I'll give you another 20,000 yuan for half a month?" Yuan Xi asked.
"Well, the closer this is to the city wall, the greater the threat from the Yanzhou soldiers. We have to send shieldmen and crossbowmen to cover it." Zhu Ling explained carefully.
"Unless Zhang Yan and others can send civilian men from Liang Guo and Chen Guozheng, there will be no more manpower, but you still have to fill it up within half a month!" Yuan Xi ordered.
"Here!" Zhu Ling said.
"How is the tunnel digging in the south going?" Yuan Xi asked.
"The Yanzhou Army dug a trench in the thick wall of the city. The tunnel dug in was immediately discovered." Liu Zhi replied.
"Humph, the stone machine will keep bombarding day and night. It doesn't matter if it reaches the city. In short, it will disturb Cao Cao's peace!" Yuan Xi ordered.
"Lord, look!" Guo Tu pointed to the city wall in the distance, "Are those figures Cao Cao and his confidants?"
"He really dared to brave the arrows and rocks to peek at our army's pile of soil. How brave." Yuan Xi sneered.
Guo Tu rolled his eyes and whispered next to Yuan Xi: "If you don't invite Mrs. Bian and Cao Xian's female family members, let Cao Cao take a look."
"Invite me!" Yuan Xi nodded.
Guo Tu got the order and immediately took the people back to the camp. After a while, the two carriages drove directly to the mound. Cao Xian, Mrs. Bian, Mrs. Huan, Mrs. Du, Mrs. Qin, Mrs. Yin, and Xiahou Dun's daughter Xia Houwei, several Yingyan beauties were driven off the carriage.
Yuan Xi couldn't help but sigh. Cao Cao is also a genuine person and can be regarded as a kindred spirit. Mrs. Yin is indeed a beauty, which makes Cao Cao not even let go of the widow of his old boss.
The female relatives didn't know why Guo Tu brought them here, but after a while Mrs. Bian said clearly: "General, I'm afraid that all his efforts have been in vain. General Cao is not the kind of person who wastes money on his children's affairs."
"Haha, madam, I don't know. The so-called humiliation leads to arrogance, and anger leads to anger. Cao Cao is the kind of person who has ambitions for hegemony. He will not abandon his weapons and surrender for the sake of his wife, but he will not be angry if he is angry. Impossible. What I want is for him to make wrong choices out of anger." Yuan Xi said calmly.
Said. Yuan Xi stepped forward and carried Cao Cao's daughter Cao Xian onto Jueying amidst the exclamations of Mrs. Bian and others. Then he jumped on the horse, hugged her from behind, and started riding forward.
Seeing his lord acting like this, Zhu Ling took a few steps away helplessly. He had no choice but to stop him.
Guo Tuze smiled and said: "In the past, the overlord of Chu was accompanied by poppies in his campaigns. Emperor Gao was accompanied by his wife Qi in his campaigns. Today, the general is also accompanied by beauties in his campaigns in the Central Plains. It will definitely become a good story."
Holding the warm and fragrant nephrite in his arms, Yuan Xi smiled lightly and said nothing, a story passed down from generation to generation? It’s not bad to be famous for the rest of your life! Ever since I joined the army, my hands have been stained with blood, including those from enemy soldiers, civilians, and even borderland aliens.
There were cases of plundering and plundering, there were cases of trapping and killing prisoners, and it was his order to massacre the Wuhuan herdsmen.
Power is a pair of twin brothers. The greater the power, the greater the power. As long as you have overwhelming power, no matter how many crimes you commit, no one dares to point fingers.
And as long as he becomes the final winner, even if he commits all kinds of crimes, Yuan Xi will not be another Tang Taizong.
Yuan Xi did not
You realize that you have finally grown into a cold-blooded overlord. In order to achieve victory, you will not give up all means to attack your opponents, even against your own people like Chun Yuqiong, Shen Pei, Xu You, and even your own brothers.
A word came to Yuan Xi's mind, so he whispered instructions to Guo Tu.
Guo Tu was also smart and immediately arranged for Xu Chu and other guards.
After a while, there were bursts of shouts from the Jizhou soldiers on the mound.
"Cao Cao's clever plan to calm the world, he lost his wife and lost his troops!"
Mrs. Yin and other young women had never been abused in this way, but they had too many ties. They really couldn't live or die, so they could only hug each other and cry together.
Cao Xian's delicate body was even stiffer, and she could not bear the shame and anger, but she was still strong and did not cry.
Yuan Xi felt so relieved that she rode her horse back and forth, hugged Cao Xian tightly with her hands, and said in her ear: "Mrs. Cao, remember what I said, as long as you are here, the two brothers will be safe."
Hearing this tight shackles, Cao Xian said nothing, but two lines of clear tears moistened his cheeks.
"Cao Cao's clever plan to calm the world, he lost his wife and lost his troops!"
Listening to the sarcastic shouting, the Yanzhou soldiers on the city wall looked strange, and several generals with foreign surnames also had unnatural expressions.
The generals of the Cao family were very angry and wished they could rush over and chop Yuan Xi and others into pieces.
From a distance of less than 300 steps, Cao Cao and others could only see a general outline, but the woman's clothes were naturally different, so they could still determine the general outline.
Looking at the silhouettes of the man and woman on horseback in the distance, Cao Cao's face turned extremely green. He clasped the handle of the knife tightly with his hand and shouted: "Shoot the arrow for me!"
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, there are three hundred steps away," a uncle reminded.
"Tsk!" "Gulu!" Blood splattered everywhere, and the head of Dubois rolled to the ground, shocking everyone to the point of breaking out in cold sweat.
They looked at Cao Cao and dared not make a sound.
After a while, Cao Cao came back to his senses and said in a deep voice: "I was so angry that I killed him by mistake..."
Then Cao Cao ordered: "Give him a good burial."
Looking at this scene, Xun You, Cheng Yu and Dong Zhao secretly felt that something was wrong. Cao Cao had been angered and turned into a beast that could bite and attack at any time. Although the madness of wild beasts is terrifying, how can savage madness resist calm wisdom.
